Yitro the Activist

In the grand scheme of things, Yitro is actually a pretty minor biblical character. His name is only mentioned 12 times in the entirety of the Torah. Yet for someone as minor as he is, he’s got quite the midrashic backstory. The midrash (Devarim Rabbah 1:5, Kohelet Rabbah 3:11, and elsewhere) states that Yitro sampled all of the...
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The Sacred Task of Following Instructions

Let’s face it: change is usually slow. Confronting the institutional injustices we see at all levels of government and many parts of corporate America, it’s hard to know which of the two moves slower. As we persist, we need opportunities to renew our hope and inspire others to continue working to bring about desperately needed...
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Packaging a Mitzvah

Purim is almost here and in my home we are busy preparing our Mishloach Manot baskets to deliver to family and friends. It’s important to me that we select only the finest products to fulfill this important mitzvah of Purim, so I always look for an American equivalent of Pri Etz Hadar (the beautiful etrog); vine...
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Technicalities, Flames, and Democracy

Before I was a rabbi, I was a lawyer. Most of my legal career was spent assessing almost-inevitably doomed appeals. These were often criminal cases based upon what are popularly called “technicalities.” That work came back to me when I read the story of Nadav and Avihu, to which we return again this week in parshat...
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A Yovel for the Poor People’s Campaign (Parshat Behar/Bechukotai)

Commentary on Parshat Behar/Bechukotai (Leviticus 25:1 – 27:34) One week from today, Monday May 14, the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival will launch across this country. As I prepare for this momentous event, I’m struck by the alignment of Torah and sacred season. This Shabbat when we read of the yovel...
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Harvest Prayer

Sukkot, the fall harvest holiday, blends our gratitude for a bountiful harvest, our awareness of the fragility and vulnerability of all life, and our ancient communal memory of leaving Egypt to travel in the desert under God’s protection. This prayer-poem connects those themes to the astounding human rights accomplishments of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers...
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Isaac, Ishmael, Hebron, and Us (Parshat Chayei Sarah)

Commentary on Parshat Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1 – 25:18) וַיִּקְבְּר֨וּ אֹת֜וֹ יִצְחָ֤ק וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל֙ בָּנָ֔יו אֶל־מְעָרַ֖ת הַמַּכְפֵּלָ֑ה… And they buried him [Abraham], Isaac and Ishmael his sons, in the Cave of Machpelah … (Genesis 25:9) Isaac and Ishmael only appear together in one line of the Torah portion Chayei Sarah, when they meet in Hebron to...
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The Binary Brothers (Parshat Toldot)

Commentary on Parshat Toldot (Genesis 25:19 – 28:9) This week’s Torah portion, Toldot, tells the story of twin brothers who were labeled from the moment they were born, and the consequences have reverberated throughout our history. Jacob, the heel-grabbing younger brother who tried to prevent his sibling from emerging from the womb first was the...
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Who Feels the Pain? (Parshat VaEra)

Commentary on Parshat Vaera (Exodus 6:2 – 9:35) Who deserves human rights? Even the Torah has its blind spots. The Torah portion VaEra describes an escalating cycle. As YHWH predicts, Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh and he refuses to free the Israelites. A plague strikes, and Pharaoh relents. The plague is removed by divine intervention,...
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